Yu-Gi-Oh! Another Name for Heaven
by Bloodsakura
Summary: In a world upon which Synchro and Xyz monsters reign, a girl lives her life, following a belief that the cards the humans wield are relics from another time, and that the secrets of the cards are written in the in the stars. This world, however, is under siege. Mysterious tablets have been appearing across the planet, and in their text, lies a secret older than religion. OC, Dark.
1. An act of Kindness

"We managed to break though!" The man shouted to his fellow workers in the tunnel. "We did?" One of them called back, "Quick, you there. Inform Prof. Hawk!"

He nodded and ran out of the tunnel. A few minutes later a woman with long, faded red hair and dressed in an archaeological diggers uniform appeared from the darkness.

"This had better not be another dead end!" She growled in an angry tone. "No, Professor. Look, we have found it this time!" One of the workers said, excitedly.

Prof. Hawk took a light from one of the others and looked inside, "My god..."

The room was illuminated and treasures from a long forgotten past were revealed to the eyes of it's finders, over three-thousand years after it's burial under the dark sands of Egypt.

"This is it, after years of searching we've finally found it!" She cheered.

The workers looked around the room and held their lights up to the walls, strange carvings of monsters and wizards, battling in bloodshed. "These carvings are unlike anything I've seen before!" One of the men said.

Hawk moved her light to wall at the end of the chamber, she noticed a hieroglyph that she didn't recognize, "All of you, bring your lights over here." One by one, the workers brought their lights over to the wall. The wall was slowly illuminated and Hawk saw the very thing she had been looking for all her professional career. Contained on the wall was a huge, stone tablet. It was covered in markings and images that were radically different to that of a typical Ancient Egyptian artifact.

"This is it, the final tablet! Get this off the wall and prepare it for transportation back to Neo Domino at once! I must contact my associates about this discovery."

Hawk walked out of the chamber and back out the tunnel. The outside was a huge dig-site with close to one hundred workers digging at once. Hawk walked to a metal structure that the leaders of the dig stayed in. She pulled a screen from a draw in a desk and switched it on, it was a Heartland Duel Disk. She punched a few numbers into the touch-screen and after a few moments a shady figure appeared on the screen.

"_Prof. Hawk, good to hear from you. Do you have any news for us?"_

"Yes, I have excellent news! We have found the final piece, the final tablet that details the fall of the first world!"

The shady figure looked up at her, "_You found it? You really found it!?"_

"Yes and we are currently preparing for transport to the Neo Domino laboratory. We can have it moved to Heartland from there." Hawk explained.

"_Good, very good. You have done us a great service, not just for your career, but for your world."_

Hawk smiled, "Thank you, that's really nice to hear from you."

"_I will expect a full report when you return to heartland. I must let our superiors know about this, you have my thanks and rest assured the higher-ups as well."_

"Of course, I must call my daughter anyway."

The figure left the call and Hawk punched a second number in.

"_Mummy!" _A girl with indigo hair and wearing a pink dress appeared on the screen.

"Hello Zion! How's my little girl? Are you behaving for Granny and Granddad?"

The girl nodded franticly, "_Yes Mummy, I am! Granny got me a new dress, don't I look pretty?"_

"You look beautiful, like a Madolche!" Hawk teased. "Mummy has some good news darling! I'm coming home soon, I just need to make one last stop at Neo Domino then I'll be home."

The girl smiled and jumped up and down, "_Yay, Mummy's coming home, Mummy's coming home!"_

"Hawk, something's terribly wrong!" One of the workers screamed as he dashed inside. Hawk turned from the screen with a look of rage, "What the hell are you doing in here!?" "No, Professor. You don't understand, someone's trying to-"

He was cut off all of a sudden.

"Someone's trying to what? Is the tablet safe!? …...Hello?" Suddenly, his body fell, lifeless on the ground. Hawk screamed and dropped her Duel Disk. Standing in the doorway was a figure donning a black cloak, a white mask with red marking and holding a blood-stained knife. Hawk stood their, petrified with fear.

"You are Prof. Azure Hawk?" The figure asked in a distorted voice. Hawk just stood there, too scared to even react. "Are you Prof. Azure Hawk!?" They asked again, this time much more violently.

Hawk was able to give a slow nod in a slight hope that her life would be spared. The figure approached and wiped the knife of on their cloak.

"Allow me to thank you on behalf of my associates, you found the tablet for us. For this you will receive a quick death, after all, the Shadow of Destruction will torment you far more than I ever could."

"Please...don't. I have a daughter!" Hawk begged.

"And for her sake. I hope destiny gives her a better path than it gave you." The figure lunged forward and slashed her throat, killing her instantly. Her body fell to the ground and the figure once again cleaned the knife of on their cloak.

"_Mummy? Where are you Mummy?"_

The figure looked down and saw the Duel Disk. Zion was still broadcasting though the Duel Network, "_Who are you and where my Mummy?" _She pleaded. The figure stood for a moment and looked at her, then without a word, crushed the screen with their boot.

Another person wearing an identical cloak walked in, "We have secured the tablet and wiped out the remaining workers. Have you finished with your errand?"

They nodded and the two left. Leaving the bodies of the dead behind them.

* * *

"Zion Hawk, pay attention!" The teacher slammed her hand down on Zion's desk.

"Oh! Um...sorry." She said awkwardly. The other students giggled slightly and the teacher adjusted her glasses, "Well if your really sorry, then you'll be joining me in detention!" "No way!?" She blurted out. "Yes way!" The teacher retorted, "You'll be here until the end of club activities."

The bell suddenly rang. It was time for Duel Period. "Saved by the bell, hey? Don't forget or I'll double the time!"

Zion nodded and left with the rest of the class, trying to ignore their whispers. Before class started, Zion headed into the bathroom; standing in front of a mirror, she splashed some water on her face. She glanced into the mirror and took a hard look at herself. Her indigo-coloured hair was straight and extended down to her chin, her fringe draped over her left eye. Moving her fringe, she looked at her baby-blue eyes, apparently inherited from her English father. This was a contrast to her light-brown skin. Finally she removed her jacked and stepped back. Still the same light-body type. Slightly on the skinny side with not much going on in the bosom.

Moving her vision downwards, she sighed at how wide her hips were by comparison to the rest of her. She honestly didn't think much of herself, maybe it was the fact that most of her genes came from her Egyptian mother who was apparently on the skinny-side. "_I don't even have a nice pair of legs to walk on..." _She thought. She took another look at her eyes, "Maybe I should get a yellow contact or something for one of them." She thought out loud.

She glanced at her watch, "_Almost time."_

She placed her jacket on and walked outside to the Duel Ground. Looking around she saw student all over duelling like they were being paid for it. "_If I didn't like this game so much I would wonder why the hell it's so popular." _She thought.

She walked over to the benches where players usually wait to be challenged, Zion was challenged often just so the other students could improve their score. She wasn't exactly a Pro-duellist or even a great one at that.

"I won, so hand over your cards you Drop-out girl!"

Zion overheard a scuffle, she looked over to a near duelling field and saw Jessica Miles picking on a student.

"Not going to hand it over? Alright; hold her down girls!" Jessica's followers pushed the student to the ground and held her arms in place. Jessica crouched down and yanks her deck-pouch from her belt, "We had a deal, I win; I get my pick of your cards."

"No! I never agreed to a betting game!" The student cried out in protest. Jessica looked though her deck and started picking out cards, "Not too bad for a Drop-out girl like yourself. I think I'll take this pretty Dark Magician Girl."

"Wait, no! Not my Dark Magician Girl!"

Jessica laughed, "Yeah, beg me. It's all your good for, isn't it?"

She began to cry as Jessica threw the rest of her cards on the ground, "Your deck is still nothing compared to mine. I'll give your Dark Magician Girl a much better home." The student was released and she began to collect her cards, she sobbed as Jessica and her friends laughed and started calling her names.

"Hey."

A quite voice was heard and Jessica turned to see Zion standing on the steps. "What the hell do you want?" One of her friends said.

Zion held a hand out to the student who had finished collecting her cards. She took it and Zion pulled her up. "Look, Jessica. Just give her back her card okay? I hate seeing the first years get bullied."

Jessica looked her up and down, "And who the hell are...wait a second. I remember you, your the quite girl in my class. Zoe or something."

"Zion."

"Whatever. Hey, I've never seen you duel around here..."

"I only duel when I feel like it, I'm not a pro or anything."

Jessica looked to her waist and saw a duel-belt, it was pink and had a heart shaped buckle that glinted a noticeable pink, "That's a Heartland belt, what's that doing in Neo Domino?" The student looked to it too, "Y-your a Heartland duellist!?"

Zion looked from one to the other, "So what if I'm from Heartland? What's the difference between that and Neo Domino?" Jessica smiled with excitement, "That means you're special, right? A Heartland duellist is always equipped with the city's trademark!"

"Trademark...a D-Gazer?" Zion asked, confused.

"Close, what I really mean are the most prized cards of all. As a Heartland duellist, you must run Xyz monsters!" Jessica's friends both nodded, "Come on Heartlander; show us your Xyz!"

Zion raised an eyebrow, "What do you want with Xyz monsters?"

"Nothing for you to concern yourself with. But, you have my attention Zion, whether that is a good or a bad thing is up to you."

"What the hell are you...you know what, I don't care. Just give her back the damn card!" Jessica snickered and held up the card, "You mean this pretty Dark Magician Girl card?"

"Yes, I mean the pretty Dark Magician Girl card." Zion said in an irritated tone.

"Ooh, push a button did I? Okay, I'll give it back, but I need something else in return."

Zion shrugged, "I think I got a Summoned Skull you an have, I'm not using it."

Jessica snickered a second time, "You are pretty slow to pick this up aren't you? Girls, show her what I mean." One of Jessica's friends dashed behind Zion and the other kicked her in the stomach. Zion fell back and the one behind her caught her and restrained her.

"Ah! What the hell are you doing!?" Zion yelled.

"I said I needed something good in return didn't I?" Jessica grabbed Zion's bag from her shoulder and looked though it, finding a binder she began to look though it. "Wow, some nice cards you have here. I think I'll just take your entire binder, okay?"

"No, not okay! What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"You wanted to get this little worm's card back, right? Dark Magician Girl is worth twice what you have in here. So I'm taking the whole thing just to be nice." Zion attempted to lunge at her, but the girl restraining her held her grip, "Don't even think about it!" She growled. Jessica threw the Dark Magician Girl card to the ground and closed the binder, "Well, I'll be taking my leave. Girl's keep these two out of my way until I'm gone."

"Duel me!" Zion shouted.

Jessica stopped, "I'm sorry?"

"I said duel me! If your willing to go that low just to take my cards, then you should except my challenge!"

She laughed and turned to Zion, "You want to duel me? Do you have any idea who your challenging? I am Jessica Miles, the top student in Neo Domino Academia and sibling to Anastasia Miles. Duelling is in my blood and a nobody, good-for-nothing, drop out like you think you can just challenge me!?"

"I know who you are. I've seen you picking on the new students and the weaker players. I think someone's got a complex, you get off on dominating little girls like her?" Zion retorted with a smirk.

Jessica was taken aback; no one had talked back to her before, normally they just beg for their cards back or something akin to that.

"_Looks like this ones got some wit to her." _Jessica thought. One of Jessica's friends looked around, "Um...Jessica-Sama, we are attracting some attention..." Jessica looked at the school yard and noticed that the students were looking at them, some were whispering.

"_Did that girl just challenge Jessica? Like really challenge her?_

"_Who the hell does something like that...?"_

"_Hey, isn't that the quite girl from the third year?"_

"_Yeah, I heard she's a Heartland duellist!"_

"_No way! What's a Heartlander doing in Neo Domino!?"_

Jessica looked back at Zion and thought for a few moments, "Zion, I'm willing to cut you a deal. I've always wanted to face a Heartlander and when I beat you it will do wonders for my reputation. I'll take your challenge, if you win I'll give you your binder back." Jessica's friends looked at her in surprise, "Y-your taking her challenge!? No way!"

"I know, it's rather unlike me. But she's from Heartland and you know how revered Heartland duellists are!"

Zion looked around at the students,"_Oh great, what I gotten myself into?" _She wondered.

"Zion, if you want your cards back, then meet me outside of Kame Game on Saturday." Jessica ordered, "Let her go." The girl let Zion go, the thought of rushing Jessica went though Zion's head, but then she realized the likely outcome of it. With two friends on Jessica's side and no back-up of her own, Zion was stuck there.

"I never should of opened my damn mouth!" She said in a raised, irritated tone.

Jessica and her comrades walked away, "Don't forget Zion, if you don't show up then you'll have to live with consequence of shame." Jessica called back.

* * *

A couple of hours later Zion was at in detention with her teacher from earlier. The teacher merely glared at her. "_Jeez, what's her problem with me? Is it because I keep to myself as oppose to socialize? It's not my fault I'm not popular!" _Zion screamed at the teacher in her head.

The hour passed agonizingly slow, after what felt like an eternity, the teacher finally let her go. "I don't want to see you in here again, you understand!?" She yelled at Zion.

Zion sighed, "Yes sensei, I understand."

She left the room and walked down the hallway, "Um...excuse me..." Zion stopped at the sound of a timid voice.

She turned and saw the student that Jessica was picking on, she had very long, black hair and a fringe that covered her eyes. Her skin was pale, she was short and had an incredibly fragile looking frame. "Oh, it's you...what do you want?"

The girl fidgeted around and stumbled her words out, "I-I w-wanted...to s-say...th-tha...thank...y-you."

"Yeah, sure." Zion was slightly annoyed, "Like that means much now, because of you I lost my binder with all my rare cards!" The girl jumped slightly, "I-I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean too!" Zion saw how easily freaked this girl was, she sighed and tried to remedy the situation, "It's okay! Sorry I snapped. It's not your fault I lost my cards, I should of seen that coming if I was standing up to Jessica." The girl seemed to calm down a little, Zion decided to get some answers from her, "So why the hell were you duelling her anyway? Did she make you?" She nodded and looked at the ground, "I...I wanted to say no, but she was so scary!"

"I hear that, I though she was Red-Eyes incarnate when I was in my first year. Look, I really don't want to stay here, so I'm going to head home. I'll catch you later...what was your name again?"

"H-Hanako..."

"Like the ghost? Wow, your parents must be real horror fans, huh? I'll see you around Hanako."

"W-wait! Are you duelling Jessica on Saturday?" Hanako asked.

"I have to, don't I? I want my cards back." Zion called as she walked though the doors to the school yard.

"Bye..." Hanako said quietly, "And...thank you."

* * *

Zion walked though the front door and went to the kitchen, after today she needed something to eat that wasn't the special sauce at school.

She reached for the fridge and noticed a note, "_Will be gone for a while, back later. G&G."__  
_

"_Knowing them, they'll out at church helping out for Sunday."_ Zion thought. She looked in the fridge and proceeded to take the last yogurt. "_Why are they always out? Is their God more important than me?" _Since that wasn't the first time that thought had crept into her head, she decided to shake it off. She didn't want to question anything like that right right now.

Opening the door, she went to her laptop and logged on. "Nothing in my E-Mail, save for the usual spam...No I don't need Viagra or anti-depressants, but the thought is nice..." She said to herself, sarcastically. She checked the Duel Network and looked at the current tournament, Anastasia Miles was duelling. "Wonder if Jessica told her about me?" She wondered out loud.

She watched a couple of duels and then pulled her deck out of her pouch and gave it a look, "Can you take on Jessica?" She asked herself, "Guess we'll find out on Saturday, It's not like I can mod this with any better cards now, anyway."

She looked out of her window and saw that the sun had set, she decided to head for bed and get an early start in the morning. She removed her uniform down to her panties and threw on a T-Shirt, "_Yay...sleep." _She thought.

Flinging herself on her bed, she turned over and closed her eyes, "_Maybe the world of dreams has something better for me tonight." _Her last thought expelled from her mind, she fell into sleep.

* * *

"_Are you any closer to deciphering the tablet?"_ A shady figure said to the scientist.

The scientist wiped his brow and tried to deliver the bad news, "W-well you see, without the final tablet, it's possibly going to take a few more months..."

"_A few months!? Professor, we have been very patient with you, VERY patient. But I am starting to think that you are unsuited for the project."_

"No! Sir, we can have it translated soon, we just need more-"

"_Time, Professor? We've given you enough time, since Hawk was killed by the opposition and that was almost a decade ago. Me and the other members of the board have decided to bring in someone from the outside, from this time tomorrow you will step down as head of the project."_

"Your kicking me off the project?! But Sir, without me we wouldn't of made any progress at all!"

"_We know that, so we are keeping you on board as an assistant to your new superior. Dr. Carla will be coming to the lab tomorrow, so please give her a warm welcome."_

"Sir, you can't do th-"

"_Goodbye Professor, we'll inform you of what privileges you'll be loosing as a result of your demotion in a few days." _The screen went dark and the scientist put his head in his hands, "How could I of not figured it out yet? What does the damn thing say!?"


	2. Zion Vs Jessica

"Get the new equipment set up, ASAP!" Dr. Carla commanded to her assistance.

"Yes Dr. Carla!" One of them said in a fluster. Carla sighed and walked over to a lab table, pulling out a Heartland Duel Disk and checking the data.

"This will take a while, but with this I can attempt a new form of translation." She moved her long, dirty blond hair and scanned over the screen with her hazel eyes.

"Dr. Carla, may I have a moment of your time?"

She looked up and saw a man in a fine suit, one of the many messengers for the higher-ups. "Yes, of course. What do you need?"

He placed a Heartland Disk on the table and switched it on, "Apologies for the somewhat menial task, but we will require you to give a small demonstration of some of our public technology on Monday. A school trip to the labs is scheduled and to keep up appearances, we have decided to have a showing of our hologram projection technology, the kind that goes into the Duel Disks and other such devices."

Carla sighed, "You need me for this? Why not just another member of staff?"

"We think that the best way to keep up appearances would be to show that our top researcher is willing to reach out to the public, your schedule has already been cleared on the day."

"Very well," She said as she signed the virtual document with her finger, "Is that all?"

"Yes, thank you Dr. Clara. We will be in touch if anything further is needed." The man picked up his Disk and left the lab.

Clara looked back at the screen she was looking at before, "Now, Prof. Hawk, what secrets did you leave for me?"

* * *

"Zion, wake up!"

Zion rolled over in her bed and looked at the clock, "Am I late for school?" She called back, lazily.

"No, it's Saturday."

"Then why the hell are you waking me up?"

"You asked me to, you said you had an important duel today."

"Huh?" She looked at the clock again, this time at the date. "It is Saturday...Oh god it's Saturday!"

She leapt out of bed and looked at the time, "Oh thank Ra, I still have time!" She looked in her mess of a closet and pulled out some clothes, blue denim shorts, a black shirt with the phase "Salvation Will Come" printed on it in white and a red button shirt.

She looked at herself in the mirror, "Maybe I should get fashion tips online or something." Slipping on a pair of black stockings, she grabbed her Heartland belt and her deck, placing the deck in the pouch and wrapping her belt round her waist. She ran downstairs and grabbed a a piece of toast from her grandmothers plate, "Thank you!"

Her grandmother looked at her, slightly shocked, "You really need to make time for breakfast!"

Zion put on a pair of black and blue sneakers and bolted for the door, "No time Granny, I'll see you later!"

"Wait, did you say your prayers?" She asked. Zion stopped, "Yeah, of course I did!" Her grandmother smiled, "Good girl! Now run along."

Zion opened the door and ran from the house, towards Kami Game. "_I hate that I can't tell them about it...Anyway, now is not the time! Jessica, I'm coming for you!" _She thought.

Making a left, she turned and ran though an ally and made it though to a small, out of the way, market. She walked though and looked around at the wares and trinkets that the pedallers were selling. "_If I wasn't in a hurry, I'd grab some these to add to my collection." _She thought as she noticed some strange foreign jewellery.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes!"

Zion spun around to see who was talking to her, "Since when could your eyes be sore?" She asked jokingly.

"A very good point, I should choose my witty remarks more carefully." The woman standing in front of Zion was tall and shapely, looking to be in her late 20's. She wore a long, purple cloak with the hood pulled up and a black, leather belt with a small deck pouch in the side. Under her hood, one could make out pale skin, shoulder length, white hair and, strangest of all, bandages wrapped around her eyes.

The material of her cloak was a fine silk and her feet were covered by sandals. Her neck was endowed with a chocker that was engraved with various symbols of the Zodiac, these same symbols carried over to the back of her cloak.

"It's good to see you again, Salina." Zion said.

Salina returned with a smile, "I haven't seen you for a long time, you haven't dropped by the shop in months."

Zion's face changed to guilt, "Sorry, I know I said I would be around to help as much as I could, but I have school and there's this teacher who-"

"Say no more, Zion. I understand, you are a young girl in her final school year, I understand that time is a luxury that you cannot afford."

Zion sighed with relief, "Thanks for being understanding Salina, I knew you would be."

Salina smile, "What brings you out here, anyway?"

"Oh, I have duel."

"A duel?

"Yeah, this girl at school stole my binder and now I need to duel her to get it back!"

"And this came about from you helping an unfortunate student?"

"Yeah...how did...never mind, I should be used to this, the stars tell you everything."

"They only give me guidelines, it's up to me how I interpret them. But, Zion, can you spare a few moments? There is something I wish to discuss with you."

Zion looked at her watch, "Err, I'll have to take a rain check on that, I think I'm already late!"

"Very well, but you please drop by the shop as soon as possible? This is somewhat urgent."

"Totally, I'll drop by after my duel has finished," She turned to run and get to Kami Game as fast as possible, "See you later, Salina!"

She ran as fast as she could, leaving Salina in a cloud of dust, "Goodbye, may the stars bring you luck!"

After a few minutes of running, she turned the corner, almost falling over the sight before her. Kami Game was surrounded by students from her school, were they wait to see the duel? She stopped running and approached slowly, keeping her head down and hands in her pockets. Perking up her ears, she heard chatting from amongst the crowd.

"_This is gotta be pretty big, I mean Jessica called us all out here."_

"_Well that girl did challenge her. Wonder if she'll even show? After all her talk, she's probably just a weak little wimp!"_

"_I know, right? She'll be a no-show and Jessica will be declared winner, then she goes undefeated...again."_

Zion growled, Jessica had put her in a situation she didn't like, being the center of attention. She hung back for a few minutes as the crowd chatted and people came in and out of the shop. Suddenly, the sound of an engine roared though the air.

Everyone looked around and saw a motorcycle slow to a halt in front of them. The person on it looked over the crowd, "Good turn out!" She said in an excited tone.

She climbed of her bike and removed her helmet, her long, orange hair flowed out from it and her bright blue eyes shone in the sunlight. Her freckled face was revealed and her smile lit up as she saw all her admires there.

Zion's jaw dropped, this was the first time she had seen Jessica in something other than her school uniform. She was wearing a skin-tight bodysuit, clearly used for Riding Duels. It was white in colour and had patched of grey on the shoulders, chest, forearms, and inner-thighs. It was not the suit itself that drew Zion's attention, however, it was instead, what the suit was concealing. Jessica's body was comparable to that of an idol, she had curvaceous figure with a surprisingly large bosom, wide hips and long, slender legs.

"_She...she's hot!?" _Zion thought in her head, "_No! Don't get distracted! Don't...get...distracted..."_ Her mind wondered off as she looked Jessica up and down.

"Zion?"

She was quickly snapped back to reality as her name was called, realizing it was pointless to try and get out of this, she stepped forward, "I'm here, Jessica. I showed!"

Jessica smiled, "So you did, I'm genuinely impressed! Not many have the guts to face me."

"Of course I showed; you've got my damn cards!"

"Well, I guess you're better than I gave you credit for. Hope you don't mind the audience, I always like to have spectators."

Zion looked around at everyone, all eyes on her. Shivering slightly, she nodded at Jessica, "Y-yeah...that's fine."

"Good! Just give me a moment," Jessica turned to her motorcycle, she pressed a button on the console and a Duel Disk and D-Gazer flipped from a comportment. She placed her arm on the Duel Disk and it snapped into her wrist.

Zion suddenly realized what that was, "Wait a minute! That's a D-Wheel! How the hell did yo get a D-Wheel!?"

Jessica giggled, "My sister is the Queen of Duellists, that fact gives me some luxuries that I'm sure you can only dream of."

"That's how you get away with attacking weaker duellists, is it?" Zion shot at her.

"I would watch your mouth, Zion. Or I'll have to wire it shut!" Jessica growled.

"Whatever, I just want my cards back," Zion placed her Duel Disk on her arm, "So lets get this party started!"

"As you wish."

Zion pressed the screen on her Duel Disk and it switched on, Jessica motioned her arm and her Neo Domino Duel Disk activated.

"Duel Disk: Set!" They both cried.

"D-Gazer: Set!" They both placed their D-Gazers on.

A feminine, electronic, voice sounded throughout, "_AR Link: Established. Players located, setting Duel Area..."_

As the crowd placed their D-Gazers over their eyes, the area around them was scanned and the arena was set up.

"_Duel Arena formed, the duel shall now commence."_

Jessica LP – 4000

Zion LP – 4000

"I'll go first!" Jessica said as she drew her card. She looked over her hand and a strategy came to her almost instantly.

"I summon Bronn, Mad King of Dark World in attack mode!"

Bronn, Mad King of Dark World ATK – 1800

"Now I activate the magic card Dark World Dealings. This card forces us to draw one card and then discard another."

Zion's reaction was a mixture of worry and readiness, "_Dark Worlds, huh? Should have know she'd use a bullshit, broken deck type like that! Looks like I'll bring out my big gun against her."_

Jessica placed two cards face down, "I end my turn."

Zion drew her card, "Here we go! I activate the field magic Sanctuary in the Sky."

The arena was swept up in a vortex of clouds, the wind blew though Zion and Jessica's hair and rays of beautiful light shone down from a land beyond the furthest star. Sanctuary was the card that brought duellists out of the world of humanity and into an image of divine majesty.

The crowd gasped at the sheer magnitude of the structure behind them, even though it was a mere hologram, all who viewed it could swear that a kind, angelic presence was watching over them.

Zion looked over one the clouds hey were standing on, she could see an almost life-like render of the Earth below them. "I know this is just data being run though our D-Gazers, but that is beautiful." She said.

She turned her attention back to the duel, "I summon The Agent of Creation – Venus."

The clouds opened and a woman with long, flowing hair materialized from the light below. In the sky around them, the planet Venus came into view, it too glowed with a golden radiance and cast it's beauty over it's embodiment.

Jessica laughed, "You're seriously facing me with Agents!? What kind of amateur are you?"

Zion smiled, "I wouldn't underestimate the power of the Solar Agents. I'll show you how flexible and strong they can be! I pay 1000 LP to activate Venus' effect. I can special summon two Mystical Shine Balls from my deck."

Venus outstretched her arms and began chanting something in a language that no one could understand. Suddenly, two orbs appeared from behind her; red and blue in colour. They each took their place aside Venus.

Zion LP – 3000

Mystical Shine Ball X2 ATK – 500

"Holy Ra, are being serious? Mystical Shine Ball and Venus; against Dark World!?" Jessica exclaimed.

"I'm guessing you're unfamiliar with this tactic, Jessica? Well let me show you, Mystical Shine Balls, LV2, Overlay!"

The two orbs transformed into beams of white light, twisting and spinning in a whirlpool like formation, they then flew into a black and purple circle, embedded with strange symbols.

"You wanted to see a Heartlander duel? Well you got it! I Overlay my monsters to open a portal to the Anti-Matter Universe. Xyz Summon: Gachi Gachi Gantetsu."

A rock-like being was drawn from the dark portal and dragged into our world, his skin was black and made of the most sold stone.

"For each Overlay Unit my monster has, all my monsters gain 200 ATK and DEF points."

Gachi Gachi Gantetsu DEF – 1800 – 2200

The Agent of Creation – Venus ATK – 1600 – 2000

Jessica smiled with a grin from ear to ear, "_A Xyz monster! At last! I can finally defeat one and prove I am worthy to Anastasia!"_

"Zion, you have done exactly what I wanted! Now show me the powers of a Heartland Duellist!"

Zion was taken aback by this sudden change in Jessica's mood, "Wait, why are you so desperate to see a Xyz monster?" She then looked around and saw the other students whispering and staring at her with judgemental eyes.

"_I can't believe it! She really is one of them!"_

"_I know, a Heartlander, with a Xyz and all."_

"_She could of at least had the decency to take that out of her deck. Those Heartlanders are always making unfair plays like that in their favour, honestly, those Xyz monsters should be banned!"_

"Wait, what's wrong with Xyz monsters? It's not like I'm cheating or anything!" Zion exclaimed.

"Ha, you are living under rock, aren't you Zion? You should know that the fine, upstanding citizens of Neo Domino don't take kindly to Xyz monsters or their users." Jessica explained.

"Wha...Bu...that's just stupid! What about Synchro monsters? I could go on all day about how overpowered some of those things are!"

Jessica snickered, "I don't give a damn what the mainstream opinion of Xyz or Synchros is, to me, all cards are tools to be used, Xyz, Synchro, Effect, Normal; they're all made for the same purpose."

"Don't just call your cards tools! They are more than that!" Zion yelled.

"Humph, whatever you say, now can we please get back to this game? I want to see what your Agent/Xyz deck can do."

"Uh...fine! Venus, attack Bronn now!"

Venus flew into the air and came hurdling back down towards Bronn. He jumped to face her head on, only to be brought back down by the impact of her fist, he shattered on the ground.

Jessica LP – 3800

"Reverse card open! Hand Annihilation Virus! I can activate this card when a Dark monster I control is destroyed by battle. Now I get to see your hand and any Light monster you hold is sent to the graveyard."

Zion growled and turned her cards around, the hologram displayed them in front of Jessica.

Zion Hand – Kaiser Sea Horse

The Agent of Miracles – Jupiter

Forbidden Chalice

Smashing Ground

Jessica flicked the holograms of Seahorse and Jupiter, shattering them. Zion placed Forbidden Chalice face down and ended her turn.

Jessica smiled, "My draw. I activate Allure of Darkness, I banish Zure, Knight of Dark World from my hand and then draw two cards. Next I activate Dark World Lightning, this card allows me to destroy a face down card by discarding a card from my hand."

She discarded and then shattered Forbidden Chalice, "Now I activate the effect of the monster I dropped in the grave, I Special Summon Sillva, Warlord of Dark World!"

Sillva arose from the clouds, brandishing a blade with a curved edge. His expression was that of a psychopathic killer, hungry for his next victim.

Sillva, Warlord of Dark World ATK – 2300

Zion readied herself for the worse, "_Damn it! I knew I'd be saying hi to one of them, but without Chalice, Venus is screwed!"_

"Oh, and I know about that annoying little stall strategy you have with Sanctuary. I play Mystical Space Typhoon!"

A cyclone of unimaginable force blew though the air, it formed a twister that tore right though the heavenly monument before them, leaving it as a hollow ruin. Soon after, the hologram disappeared and they were returned to the outside of Kami Game.

"Now I play Hand Destruction. This card forces us both to discard two and then draw two, but since you have only one card left, you'll have to just get rid of it and draw one."

Jessica sent her cards to the graveyard and drew her two new cards, "Now I activate the effect of Goldd, Wu Lord of Dark World, when he is discarded by a card effect, he can be special summoned!"

Goldd Wu Lord of Dark World ATK – 2300

"Now, Sillva, attack Venus now!"

Sillva brandished his blade and ran straight towards Venus, she flew into the air in order to escape his attack, but he jumped impossibly high and pulled her down by the wings. Throwing her on the ground, he raised his weapon and beheaded her, her hologram disappearing to the graveyard.

Zion LP – 2700

"Venus...no..." Zion said, quietly.

"Goldd, attack Gachi!

Goldd dashed at Gachi and grabbed his arms, forcing him to the ground. He then began to force his foot into Gachi's chest, making his stone skin crack.

"I activate Gachi's effect! By detaching an Overlay Unit, I can negate his destruction!"

One of the lights that was circling Gachi flew into him, he suddenly gained a burst of strength, pushing Goldd of him and making him retreat back to Jessica's field.

"_So that's Gachi's ability." _Thought Jessica. "Very well, I shall proceed to my next Main Phase." Jessica looked at her extra deck and smiled immensely, "Goldd and Sillva, LV5, Overlay!"

"Wh-What!? You have a Xyz monster!?" Zion screamed.

Jessica laughed, "Yes, did you really think that all Neo Domino Duellists were as stubborn as these sheep? I am the ace student at the Academia for a reason, I am a player of Effect, Synchro and Xyz! Now, I open a portal to the Anti-Matter Universe. Xyz Summon: Adreus, Keeper of Armageddon."

A black winged, dark dressed, angel appeared from the portal to the Anti-Matter Universe. He held in his had a small, crimson blade, the same crimson as his eyes. His hair draped iver his face and even down his back.

Adreus, Keeper of Armageddon ATK – 2600

"Once per turn, I can detach an Overlay Unit and destroy a monster you control and I'm assuming Gachi isn't immune to effects is he?"

An Overlay Unit flew into Adreus' sword, he pointed it at Gachi and a bolt of red lightning shot out and destroyed him, Zion was left with no other monsters now, not backrow and only one card in hand.

Jessica laughed in victory, "Tell me Zion, how does it feel to know you're going to loose? You seriously thought you stood a chance against me, with such a pathetic excuse for a deck? On my next turn, I can attack with Adreus and whatever monster I choose, there's nothing you can do now!"

Zion looked at her card, Mystical Space Typhoon, anything else might have worked in this situation. She looked at the field and saw how pointless going on seemed, "_Maybe I should just surrender? I mean, it's not like I can do anything with this..."_

"D-Don't give up!"

Zion and Jessica heart a faint, but determined voice from the crowd, "Don't give up, y-your cards are on the line!"

She looked around and saw Hanako, trembling with fear as she attempted to speak word of encouragement, "You can do it, Zion!"

"Hanako...what are you doing here?" Zion asked.

"I...I came to watch you...win..."

Suddenly, Jessica began laughing, "Oh, sweet Ra, that's too damn funny! Zion's little fangirl came by to cheer her on, how sad, it almost makes me feel pity."

Following in Jessica's footsteps, everyone in the crowd began to laugh at Hanako, who's trembling became worse, Zion noticed that she was on the verge of tears.

"All of you, shut the hell up!" Zion yelled, quieting down the roars of laughter, "It's my turn, I still have LP, so I still have a chance!"

"Your serious about this, aren't you? Very well, go ahead, see if you can beat me!" Jessica teased.

"I draw!" Zion pulled her card and silently prayed that she could actually use it, "Hey, Jessica, there's only one thing in the world hotter than a red-head, and that's the sun!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'll show you! I banish The Agent of Creation – Venus from my graveyard to Special Summon the strongest monster in my deck!"

Jessica's attention suddenly became more focused, "What do you...wait, you mean...HIM!?"

Zion smiled, "I summon Master Hyperion!"

The sky turned a bright, burning orange as the very embodiment of fire and passion roared from the sky. Though the clouds, large, metal arms were seen, making their way to the battlefield, soon enough, the very life of out solar system became a living being.

The armoured titan know as Hyperion had been summoned, his wings of fire scorching the earth in his wake.

Master Hyperion ATK – 2700

Jessica's previous zealous and attitude had disappeared, now replaced with fear, "How...how could I let you summon him!?"

Zion didn't pay attention, she merely continued with her move, "Master Hyperion's effect activates. I can banish a Light-Fairy monster from my graveyard to destroy one card on the field!"

Jessica realized, "Not so fast, I activate my face down card Fiendish Chain! As strong as your monster is, I can stop him with a simple trap card!"

"Chain, Mystical Space Typhoon!"

"What!?"

"I know it doesn't negate, but it doesn't matter if it's something like Fiendish Chain. So, Hyperion, continue with your effect."

Hyperion charged a ball of energy, it heat and power were so strong, one could believe it was really there. He threw it at Adreus and sent him to the graveyard in one fell swoop.

"Now, attack Jessica directly!"

Hyperion did the same, this time flying into the air, his wings spread as ashes of burning planets fell down on he duel, he fired an orb of flame that hit Jessica head on, forcing her to the ground.

Jessica LP – 1100

"I end my turn."

Jessica slowly stood, the whispers of the crowd could be heard very well now.

"_Zion just...she just hit Jessica straight on and it connected!"_

"_No one's ever done that before! Is this the power of a Heartland Duellist!?"_

"Well done, Zion..." Jessica's words silenced the whispers, "You've shown me what I can expect from a Heartlander, for this, I thank you. But I need to win! My draw!"

She looked at the card she drew, "I activate Card Destruction! I discard my hand and draw the same number of cards I was previously holding."

As she discarded her card, the a grey mist seeped into Hyperion, he groaned in agony as he began to crumble into dust. "What the hell is going on!?" Zion screamed.

"When one particular Dark World monster is discarded, I can target a monster on the field and destroy it." Jessica explained.

Zion's expression was now that of fear, "No...not...not him!"

Jessica's smile returned, "Hyperion is the strongest monster in the Solar Agents Archetype, don't you feel it fitting I defeat him with the strongest Dark World monster?" Jessica held up a card, "I summon Snoww, Unlight of Dark World," placing the card on her Duel Disk, white ashes danced in the wind, forming together to create the twisted form of Snoww, the Dark Worlds messenger.

Snoww, Unlight of Dark World ATK - 1700

"Are you ready, Zion? I return Snoww to my hand in order to summon the strongest card in my deck! I Special Summon Grapha, Dragon God of Dark World!"

With the sky black and air still, the earth beneath cracked open, nothing was seen, but the shadow of a black, inconceivable evil in the form of a dragon from the darkest realms of human imagination.

Grapha, Dragon God of Dark World ATK - 2700

"Grapha, attack."

With those words, the monster called on its dark powers and caused a storm of shadow to consume Zion, sending her hurdling though the air and into the wall behind her.

Zion LP – 0

Winner – Jessica

The duel was over, Jessica removed her D-Gazer, "You see Zion? No one beat me, I am the next Duel Queen and now I know that not even a Heartland Duellist is strong enough to face me!"

She turned around and put her helmet on, "I'll see you back at school, if you can show yourself."

With that, she started up her D-Wheel and left, Zion struggled to stand, looking around at the students, leaving to go around with there day.

"_Just another win for Jessica..."_

"_I know, Zion didn't stand a chance."_

Zion looked down at the ground, disappointment filled her eyes, "I lost...after all that...I lost.._."_

* * *

On the edge of a building, three figures stood, watching over the Constellation Technologies building, "Our intel confirms it, there is a tablet inside."

"Well, what are waiting for?"

"Patience! According to the intel, Dr. Carla will be presenting to some students, without her, the tablet is as good as ours. We'll strike then."

The three nodded, looking at the tall building.

Inside, the tablet illuminated, detecting that it's chosen herald was near by.


	3. An incomplete session

Zion stood, clutching her arm, she noticed bruises and grazes from her impact, "God damn it..."

She looked to where Jessica had been standing, now there was just a group of students, snickering at her.

"_She really though she could win, didn't she?"_

"_Yeah, just stupid, dumb optimism. She never stood a chance against Jessica, no one does." _

She picked her card up off the ground and placed them back into the pouch on her belt. Hanging her head in shame, she began to walk away from the prying eyes around her.

"Zion..."

She turned around, "Hanako?"

Hanako was standing there, clearly trying to think of words of encouragement. Zion shook her head, "Don't bother."

She walked away, back towards her home. Hanako tried to go after her, but she realized how useless it was.

* * *

"When the hell did this happen!?" Carla demanded.

"We don't know! It just began reacting to something!"

The tablet had began to glow for a few mere moments, stopping just as fast. "I want every available person on this, run every test we can. I will not let this lead vanish!"

"Right away Dr. Carla!" Her lab assistants hurried to prepare their equipment for testing. Carla walked over to her office, and activated her Duel Disk. She punched a number into the touchscreen.

A silhouetted figure answered her call, "_Dr. Carla? We didn't expect to hear from you so soon_."

"I'm sorry, but I feel you should know about this."

"_I'm listening..._"

"We got a reaction from the tablet. An actual, real reaction!"

"_What!? How!?_"

"We have no idea, something caused a reaction. We are running every test we can to find the source."

"_Good. Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Dr. Carla. I will let the higher-ups know immediately. Keep running tests, and continue the research into the related project._"

"Yes sir!"

"_We will send someone to look at this, it's best we have eyes over there for something like this._"

Clara nodded, "Agreed, I will prepare my people for their arrival."

"_Good. Also, Dr. Carla, did you get our memo about Monday?"_

"You mean the display of the new D-Wheel to the public? Yes, I did."

"_Apologies, but the higher-ups insisted on you to be the speaker for the event."_

Carla waved her hand, "It's no issue. I understand the need for a good public image."

"_Very well. Keep me updated on further developments."_

"Will do, sir."

The screen went dark and Carla switched off her Duel Disk. Turning to the tablet, now being scanned by various types of equipment, she thought about what she had read in Hawk's research, and the secrets she had hoped to discover.

"_You were so passionate. You really wanted to change the world with this, didn't you Hawk?"_

* * *

Zion walked into her house, "I'm home," She called out.

Nothing.

"Don't tell me they went out, again!?" Zion though aloud in an irritated tone. "_Why are you never home when I need you?" _She questioned in her head.

She kicked the door shut behind her and walked to her room. Opening the door, she flung herself on her bed and began rubbing her forehead.

"How did I loose so badly!?" She yelled. The loss against Jessica had been a huge blow. She wasn't exactly a great duellist, but, she had hoped to at least put an elitist like Jessica in her place.

She rolled over and instantly began dreading Monday, "_Everyone's going to see me and laugh..." _She thought. Glancing at her Duel Disk, she noticed she had a message that she had forgot to open.

"_Zion? It's your granny. Me and your granddad will be out shopping for dinner, we have some friends for church coming over. Please be home by five O'clock. Good luck in your duel!"_

Zion growled and threw her Duel Disk on the chair by her desk, "You always pick your damn religion over me!" She yelled, wishing someone could hear her.

She rolled into her stomach and pressed her face into the pillow, followed by muffled screams. After a few moments, she calmed down, "_I shouldn't say things like that...but..."_

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, "Huh?" She walked down the stairs and opened to door.

"...Hanako?"

"Um...are...you..."

"I'm okay...how did you find out where I live?"

"I...followed..."

Zion stopped her there, "Woah, you followed me home!?"

Hanako panicked, "Well...um...no...I just followed you to the end of the road...and then I tried different doors and-"

"Okay, I get it!" Zion stopped her again, "You were worried and tried to find me. Is that it?"

Hanako nodded franticly.

"Okay. That's less creepy," She looked and saw that Hanako had a look of genuine worry on her face, even if her hair was covering her eyes, "That's sweet of you...coming to see if I'm okay."

"Well...you got my card back for me and...I...um...wanted-"

"Wanted to thank me?"

"Y-yes...and...apologise..."

Zion raised an eyebrow, "Apologise? For what?"

"W-well...it's because of me that your cards are gone...I'm sorry!" She blurted out in a panicked tone.

Zion scratched her head, "_What is her problem?" _She shook It off, "Look, it's okay. It's not like you could of seen it coming."

Hanako looked at her, "Are...are you sure it's really okay?" Zion nodded, "Yeah, relax. I'll just have to find another way to get my cards back, or, if I have to: start a new collection from scratch."

"Start again!? But, you had over eighty cards in there!" Zion shrugged, "These things happen. Besides, I can always see if Salina could help me out."

Zion paused, then almost smacked herself in the face, "Salina! I knew I'd forgotten something! Look, Hanako, it's been real nice seeing you. But, I gotta go meet a friend, mind if we continue this at school?"

Hanako nodded and turned to leave, "Oh, before you go," She turned to Zion, "Thanks for coming to see me. That's real sweet."

Hanako blushed and ran away, leaving a slightly confused Zion behind, "_What was that about?" _She thought as she watched Hanako run surprisingly fast.

She walked out the door and proceeded to the market she had passed though earlier that day. Turning down the ally, she made her way though the various stalls selling exotic and bizarre merchandise. She walked down another ally and approached a small, out-of-the-way, shop. The exterior was a simple wooden door and a window. The window displayed a mixture of crystals, books, maps, cards and other items that would seem peculiar to your average consumer.

Zion pushed open the door and a ball could be heard, "Just a moment!" A voice was heard from within, "Salina, it's me," Zion called back, "Oh! Come in!" Zion walked in. The shop was filled with glass cases. Each one contained something different.

Zion walked towards the back of the shop, scanning the cases with her eyes. Each displayed items from various religions, cultures and beliefs. Where one might contain crosses, crucifixes and bibles related to the various forms of Christianity, another may contain spellbooks, wands and athame related to the various forms of Witchcraft.

Zion walked though a certain to the back of the the shop, there she saw Salina, sorting though a few items, "What you got there?" Salina pointed to a case that was only half filled, Zion glanced inside and saw a grimoire made of what seemed to be brown leather, she picked it up and examined it.

"This is a new one, what's this case for?"

"Old-World Demon worship, I traded with a friend of mine for a box of her old craft tools. Looks like she used to be a follower of the Empress."

Zion tilted her head at the grimoire, "The worshippers of the Archfiends used grimoires too?" She opened the book, seeing that the text was in an illegible language, she sighed, "It's in a language I don't understand," She complained.

Salina smiled, "It's Old-World Chaos Text. Only the most dedicated members of the religion could learn it. Most religions used it back then to make there holy books more difficult for non-members to read, it's not like these days where every holy book gets published in every language imaginable."

Zion planed the book back in the case, "You ever going to teach me that?"

"When you're ready, you still have a ways to go before we start tackling the very text that the Old-World was built upon. Come here, I have something I want you to see."

Zion walked over to the table, it was covered in pages from various sacred texts and jewellery that was endowed with demonic imagery. "Some pretty hardcore stuff here," Zion said as she picked up a necklace. The chain was a pure silver and the charm was that of a skull with curved horns, similar to a rams skull. "Where have I seen this before?"

"Here, I expect," Salina said as she passed Zion a deck of Duel Monsters cards.

Zion took them and was left speechless by what she was holding, "Th-these are...Archfiends!? Real Archfiend cards!?"

"Yes they are! I finally found a legitimate deck, after all this time!"

Zion's reaction was more than understandable, The Archfiend cards were some of, if not the rarest cards in the world. Not only were they among the first archetypes in the game, but they were the one of the only two not to receive a reprint after they're initial release. The other was the now sought-after Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards, which had since become something of a mascot for the game. The reasons why Blue-eyes never received a reprint was because of the man who commissioned their very creation. He wanted an archetype that could dominate all others and that would solidify his status as King of Duellists. However, his death meant that the cards were released to the public, albeit in very limited quantities. Three Normal monsters, a two Tuner monsters and a Synchro monster comprised the archetype and now, collectors, duellists and historians alike wanted them.

The lack of Archfiends, however, was a more controversial story. After the complete set was released, duellists who used them began to slowly, but surely, loose their minds. Cases surrounding this strange phenomena show that the victims all had visions of madness and saw the exact same things. Pandemonium, their loved ones burning alive, children with the words "_H__eaven is a lie" _scratched into a blank slate where their faces should be, and the monster that lead the archetype, Archfiend Empress, telling them that they are her belongings and that all the love and happiness in their lives was a lie. These visions caused every person who witnessed them to commit suicide.

Many felt that this had nothing to do with the cards, after all, they are just cards, right? But, regardless, these events caused the Archfiend cards to never be reprinted, and Constellation Technologies, the creators of Duel Monsters, have never spoken a word about them since. Because of the one-time printing and the amount of controversy surrounding them, one would expect these cards to fetch a high price with collectors. However, this is not the usual outcome, what normally happens is that if an individual comes to own one of these cards, they will go to every length to pass on, dispose or otherwise destroy the card. What Zion was holding was an entire Archfiend deck, every single one was there. She shook with excitement as she looked though the cards.

"This...this is incredible!" She exclaimed, "Salina, you have to keep these safe! There is no way you can sell them in the shop!"

Salina smiled, "Don't worry, I'm keeping them with the rest of my collection. No one will ever duel with this deck."

Zion gave her the cards back, "I'm so happy I came by today! This totally perks me up from this morning!"

Salina looked at her, "What happened?"

Zion suddenly realised what she had said, "Um...never mind! Nothing for you to worry about!" Her face showed the obvious lie.

"Zion, I can see that you're lying...you lost again, didn't you?"

Zion looked down to the ground in shame, "She...she overpowered me. Even after I summoned Hyperion."

Salina caressed Zion's arm, "You still aren't connecting with your cards, are you?" Zion shook her head, "I see. Would you like to try another deck?"

Zion nodded, "I mean...if it's not too much trouble..." Salina smiled at her, "No, it isn't any trouble at all."

They both walked into a small room with even more glass cases. This time, however, they all held different decks. "Maybe this variant of Agents aren't working out for you. Or maybe you need to try a new deck altogether, would you like me to pull a few out and show you, or would you prefer to find one yourself?"

Zion looked around, "Well, so far I've only gone with my instinct. Maybe I need some guidance?"

Salina nodded and proceeded to a cabinet, opening it with a key, she pulled a few deck cases out and placed them on the table in the other room. "These are a few decks passed down to me by my mother. She used to collect them much in the same way I do," She opened one of the wooden cases the decks were held in, "This is a Maju deck."

Zion took the deck and felt it in her hands, the cards themselves were worn, with text fading and the artwork dulled in colour. "Wow, these are old! Original prints?"

"Yes, this deck in particular was passed down from a great uncle of mine. He created a variant of the Banishment deck and incorporated the Manju cards so he could overpower his opponents." Salina Explained.

Zion looked at Maju Garzet, his bizarre appearance of a skeletal figure combined with a feathered beast made her somewhat unsettled, "I think I'll pass on this one..."

"Shame, I thought the Maju cards might resonate with you. Oh well, I also have a Yokai deck that might work for you, it's themed around Japanese folklore and urban legends."

"Oh no! I got one ghost following me around, I don't need another!"

"The student you defended?"

"How did you...lemme guess, the stars?"

"They gave me a fairly accurate reading."

"Well that's painfully obvious..."

"So she keeps following you around?"

"Yeah, she even showed up at my house. She's a little unsettling, I have to admit." Salina smiled at this, "Maybe she's smitten with you, ever consider that?" Zion shot a look at her, "Don't even go there Salina!"

Salina's smile grew a little wider, "I suppose you already have someone in mind?" Zion blushed, "I never said that! Stop twisting my words!"

Salina was about to respond when Zion mobile went off, "Sorry, mind if I take this?" Salina nodded and walked out of the room.

Zion answered her phone, "Hello?"

"_Zion? Where are you?"_

"Granny? I'm...out."

"_Well come back home, it's getting late!"_

"What? It's barely five O'clock!"

"_That's to late for you, we don't want a repeat of what happened last time!" _

Zion growled, "Fine! I'll be home in a few minutes..."

"_Good," _The phone was then hung up.

She clutched her phone and growled as Salina walked in, "Are you okay?"

"Why are they so...controlling?" Zion asked herself. Salina's face changed to a look of worry, _"Here grandparents! Again!?" _She screamed in her head silently, "Zion, if you need to leave, you're welcome to. I won't keep you." Zion looked at her, "Are...are you sure? I mean I've missed so many of our sessions and-"

"I said it's okay!" Salina interrupted her. "I have mentioned countless times, if you need to be somewhere, I can postpone or reschedule. You are a high school student, time is not one of your luxuries."

"Salina I...I'm sorry..."

"Don't be, it's not your fault!"

Zion nodded, a look of disappointment in her eyes, disappointment with herself. She turned to leave, "One moment, Zion."

She turned and saw Salina holding something out to her, "What's this?"

"It's a good luck charm," Salina held out a silver chain-necklace with a charm attached, the charm was that of a silver amulet, with a red ruby in the center. The amulets was covered in runes that resembled the signs of the zodiac.

"This is..."

"A small gift, I've noticed how down you are today. Please take to make you feel a little better."

Zion looked at Salina, "I can't-"

"Yes you can, please Zion, it hurts me to see you like this. Please take this and remember that the stars are always keeping you safe."

Zion took it and tried to attach it round her neck, "Let me help you..." Salina turned her around and clipped the chain correctly. "Th-thanks you," Zion said.

"I knew it would suit you. Now go, your grandparents are waiting."

Zion hugged Salina, "Thank you for still bothering with me," Salina returned her hug, "Someone has too," She said in playful manner.

They released each other and Zion walked out of door and ran back home, as she ran, she saw how high the sun was. The middle of summer and she still had a curfew, most people would think it normal for a teenagers guardians to be overprotective like that, but for Zion; it was different.

She was about to open the door when she noticed the necklace was still around her neck. She quickly tucked it into her shirt and walked into the house, "I'm home," She called out.

"Took you long enough!" Her grandfather called out, "Sorry granddad, I was...delayed."She sat at the dinner table, noticing they had company, "Oh...hello," It was her grandparent's friends from church, all nicely dressed.

"Hello Zion, it's been a while, how's school?" One of the women asked.

"Uh...good..." Zion was unsure what to say, she had never liked the people her grandparents associated with. She felt uncomfortable, all these people she hated all here in her house. It seemed like she couldn't get away from "God" inside her own home.

"Now that Zion is here, if a little under dressed, allow us to join our hands in prayer," Her grandfather said. Everyone joined hand save for Zion, who was more than reluctant to do so, "Zion, what are you doing?" Her grandfather asked.

Zion looked at him, timidly, "I'm...not in a praying mood..."

"What are you talking about? We have to thank God for the meal we are about to have."

"But...why?"

"What do you mean why!?" Her grandfather's tone became harsher, "He created this food!"

"No...you did. You always do the cooking, right? If anything, we should be thanking you..." Zion suddenly felt all the eyes in the room fixate on her, she didn't dare turn her head to see the dark looks she was obviously getting.

Her grandfather suddenly slammed his arm down on the table, causing it to shake violently, "Damn it, Zion! We have told you how important prayers are in this house! NOW JOIN HANDS!"

Zion instinctively moved back in fear, after a few moments, eyes still locked with her grandfather, she slowly joined hand with the child and woman sat silently next to her.

"Good..." Her grandfather said, sitting back down in his place. He joined hands with the people next to him and began to speak the traditional prayer.

As he spoke, Zion shook as tears rolled down her face. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened, and it wouldn't be the last. But, not only was she crying because of her grandfather's outburst, she was weeping for her prayer, going to God that wasn't her own.


	4. The Old Way Part One

It was the day of the week she dreaded the most, Sunday. Most teenagers would be happy at the prospect of an extra day off, spending their time relaxing, or spending time with friends. Zion was not one of those teenagers. It was Sunday, the day she was forced to attend her local church.

Zion looked in the mirror, her Sunday clothes were just as uncomfortable as they always were. A white button shirt. Grey, velvet jacket that stopped just above her lower-back. A grey dress that went just past her knees. Black shoes and a red chocker. She adjusted her chocker as best as she could to make it slightly more comfortable.

"Zion, hurry up. We need to be there soon." Her grandmother called up, "_Why the hell can't I just stay here? I don't follow your backwards form of worship!" _Zion wouldn't normally thought like that about her grandparents religion, she was respectful of other beliefs and customs. But her grandfather's outburst the evening before had pushed all the wrong buttons, "_I'm sick of hiding my real beliefs! They think their God is so amazing? Then why didn't my prayers get answered? Why is my mom still lying in a graveyard in Egypt? Why have none of the killers been caught? Where's my dad!?"_

As these thoughts rushed though her mind, tears filled her eyes and her hands clenched in fists. She felt rage fill her whole body for a fraction of a second, and in that fraction, she flung her fist into the mirror she was looking into. She regained control of her emotions, seeing the damage she had done, she merely quietly giggled, "A shattered mirror...strangely fitting metaphor..."

"Zion, what was that noise?"

"My lamp fell off my nightstand, the lightbulb smashed..." Zion didn't feel remorse about lying to them right now.

"Oh, well be more careful. And hurry up, your grandfather is getting the car ready."

Zion swallowed her anger for the time being and walked down the stairs to her grandmother, "I'm here, can we get this over with?" Her grandmother frowned at her, "Don't talk about church that way! You know how important it is to kids your age!" Zion felt some anger return at that statement.

At that moment, Zion's grandfather walked in and gestured for them to come outside. They all got in the car and drove to the church.

* * *

Doctor Carla had scanned the tablet uncountable times, no matter what she did she couldn't determine what caused the reaction she had witnessed. She had tried so many different methods to activate it, then out of no where; it reacts as if to nothing. "Please tell me you have something." She asked one of her assistance. He shook his head, "I'm sorry Dr. Carla, we have nothing. Blank results like always."

She growled in frustration, "I need some results and I need them now! The higher-ups are sending an informant on Tuesday!" Her assistant snapped his head towards her, "W-what!? The higher-ups are coming here!?" Carla nodded in response, "So we better get something to show them or we'll be talking face to face with the higher-ups themselves!" That made the assistant panic, he quickly began to input commands to the equipment to start another scan of the tablet.

Carla walked into her office and slumped into the chair behind her desk, she had expected to make some serious progress after the tablet showed signs of awakening. "_Damn it! We were this close to finding something, translating the runes, cracking the code, just anything!"_ She thought to herself. Her Duel Disk stood propped up on her desk, acting as her computer. She motioned her finger over the touch-screen and cycled though all the research she had done on the project, "My research, Hawk's research, Evans' research. It all makes a little progress, only for something to half that progression." She thought out loud.

* * *

The room was almost completely dark, save for a small amount of light bleeding in though the blinds. The room was a huge meeting place, with a large, round table in the center. Sat around this table were six individuals, silhouetted by the dark veil around them.

"And there you have it, the tablet has become active inside the Neo Domino facility." One man explained to the other five. They all looked at each other with looks of excitement and intrigue.

"That means there is another potential Herald in Neo Domino. We must look into this matter immediately!" Another man said in a stern voice. The others nodded in agreement.

"The question is: Who should we send to investigate?" One woman put forth to the group. They all sat in silence for a moment, calculating their options.

"I will go."

The other looked to a woman, "We need to start taking these matters into our own hands, not just waiting for our subordinates to do it for us." The others looked at each other when hearing this.

"Are you sure, Mirage?"

She nodded, "I will meet with Anastasia, then take a jet to Neo Domino. If all goes well, I should be there by the midday tomorrow. Also I have a suspicion that someone else is in Neo Domino. One of our primary competitors in fact."

"And what makes you think that?" One man said. Mirage pressed a button under her desk and a holographic screen appeared in the center of the table. "This is security footage from the Neo Domino facility."

They all watched as they saw a cloaked figure dash down a dark ally, followed closely by a large, black creature. It was large enough to cover the camera with it's mass for a few moments. "As you can see, our opposition has begun to move sooner than we intended, I feel time is running out."

The other sat quietly for a few moments, then all nodded in agreement, "Very well Mirage, you shall be the one to lead the Neo Domino investigation."

Mirage stood, "Then I shall prepare immediately."

* * *

Zion walked into the house and groaned, not only had church been longer than she thought, but she had to stay after for Sunday school. "I'm going upstairs to get changed, okay?" She called to her grandparents. "Okay," Her grandfather yelled back.

She climbed the stairs and entered her room. She quickly removed her church clothes and changed into an outfit similar to the one she had wore in Saturday, albeit with a blue over-shirt, a plain, black T-Shirt and pink stockings this time. She turned to look at herself in the mirror...then stopped. The glass had been shattered by her punch earlier that day.

"_Seven years bad luck."_

Zion remembered those words from when she was a child. Her mother had said them to her that one time she almost broke a mirror, _"Seven years bad luck sweetie. You don't want that! Here, I'll fix it for you." _Her mother's words echoed though her memories.

"You're not here to fix it..." She said, staring into the shattered reflection of herself.

"_That's because you're a worthless accident..."_

"What the hell was that!?" Zion spun around, nothing. But she heard something, she knew it. "Who's there!? Show yourself!" Still nothing. "I heard something!" She screamed into the air. Her only answer was silence.

Zion spend the rest of the day attempting to find the voice she had heard. It eventually dawned on her that it could have been her ears or her mind playing tricks on her. So she decided to relax and play some video games before heading to bed. She spend a few hours on her favourite RPG before heading to bed.

She glanced out the window and saw hat the moon had risen over the city streets, it's light fighting for dominance with the city lights. Zion decided to leave her curtains open, for some reason she preferred the light of the outside world to the darkness of her confined room. She removed her clothes down to her panties, threw on the old, baggy, Lava Golem Printed shirt she used for pyjamas and crawled into bed. The sounds of cars driving by and people chatting in the warm night helped her sleep somehow.

* * *

Atop the building was a roof-garden. Catering to only the highest of Neo Domino society, many of the wealthy residents with something to hide came here in order to brag out their dark deeds to their fellow man or woman.

In a center was a fountain that shot streams of water high into the air and tables were set up all around. Sat in the the corner, at an out of the way table, was a woman who controlled the lives of many. She wore a white suit and had long, red hair that flowed behind her head and a neatly cut fringe that hung just above her dulled, blue eyes.

She sipped her wine from a glass and stared out into the city light below. As she looked down she knew that the veil of light was hiding the next herald, something she had been informed off by the higher-ups.

"Anastasia," A voice called out.

She looked and saw Mirage, "So you finally came crawling out of Heartland? What do you want Mirage? I'm trying to host a party for my...acquiescences."

"Just as self-entitled as ever, aren't you?" Mirage commented, "I'm here because my comrades and I informed you of the next herald being closer than we first thought."

Anastasia nodded, "Yes, I heard. Why are you even bothering to look for this one? You have two including me, that's enough for the ritual, surely?"

Mirage frowned, "You know we need all four of your kind, if we don't get the last of you before the time of the alignment-"

"Okay, I get it! Just tell me what you want me to do." Anastasia interrupted. Mirage glared at her briefly before pulled a Duel Disk from her suitcase, "This is last record of the tablets activity. Somewhere in this city a herald was duelling and it caused a reaction or so Dr. Carla thinks."

"Dr. Carla?"

"The researcher working on the tablet project. Quite dedicated, much more so that the last one."

Anastasia rolled her eyes, "Another change in researchers? You know none of them will ever match up to Hawk."

Mirage didn't answer, "Just get to work, I expect you report in with any information."

"And just how am I suppose to find this herald?" Anastasia said in a joking tone.

"You know exactly how. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a hotel to return too. The scum of the higher-class is almost worse here than in Heartland..."

"Very well. Always good to see you Mirage."

* * *

Zion slowly walked into class, hoping in vain that the eyes of her classmates wouldn't notice her. Unfortunately, Jessica saw her, "Hey Zion, you actually showed your face!"

"_God damn it! Come on Zion, don't let your loss get you down! Show people your not just another face in the crowd at this school! Stand up for yourself!"_ Her mind screamed these commands at her, but nothing came out of her mouth.

"What's the matter? Did my complete decimation of your self-esteem keep you from talking back to me like you did before? I hope so, cause I don't want you running your mouth like the lowlife you are!"

Jessica's followers joined in, "Yeah, you should never of opened your mouth! Who do you think you are challenging Jessica-sama like that? You should of known she would of wiped the floor with you!"

"I know, right? Who uses Agents these days anyway? That archetype is so last-gen it was played by Ancient Egyptians!"

"I get it!" Zion finally yelled, "I lost, I don't reminding of that!"

They suddenly looked at each other and Jessica finally spoke again, "Well, looks I didn't break your spirit like so many others. Good for you." She condescended.

"I'm not a damn toy! So don't talk to me that way! I almost beat you, you were just using a broken deck type! How are Dark Worlds still legal anyway?" Zion retorted.

"Hmm...I think you're just jealous that I have a better deck type than you. You should learn that being in higher society gives one certain advantages over the common filth such as yourself."

Zion clenched her fists, "Say that again, I fu-"

"Settle down students and Zion get to your seat!" The teacher yelled as she walked into the room. Zion glared at Jessica who responded with a smirk of confidence.

As Zion took her seat, two other students walked into the room, "Ah yes, Everyone, these are our foreign-exchange students. I would like to introduce you to Trish Cherubin and Piper Linn.

The new students stood in front of the class, one was perky and cheerful, the other was slightly reserved, but held a look of confidence. "Would you like to introduce yourselves?"

"Sure!" One of them said. She stepped forward with a large smile, swishing her blond hair behind her shoulder and letting it flow to her lower back. Her eyes were a deep blue and her skin was tanned. "I'm Trish, your new exchange from Hawaii! So, I guess the best word to say would be: Aloha!"

Zion was surprised at Trish's bubbly attitude, no one else in class seemed to be that chirpy, specially on a Monday.

"I should probably mention that I came here because I wanted to see the world and meet new people. Since I'm a top duellist in Hawaii I was accepted into your academia. I hope we can get along."

She stepped back and the other student stepped forward after Trish gestured her. She had long, dark-green hair that was tied in two small buns on the top of her head, while the rest fell down to her waist in pig-tails. In Japan, this style was known popularly as Ordango. Piper also had noticeable yellow eyes, slightly hidden behind glasses. Her skin was also tanned similar to Trish, but her shoulders were exposed because of the halter top she was wearing. Looking at her shoulders, one could see visible tan-lines.

"I'm Piper, your exchange from the UK. Um...How's it goin'?" She clearly wasn't sure what to say. "I hope we get along and stuff," She looked back to her mobile that she had been texting on earlier.

"Piper, why aren't you in uniform?" The teacher asked, Piper looked at herself, she was wearing the before mentioned halter top, a red skirt, brown, high-heeled boots and had a jacket tied around her waist. She shrugged, "Guess I forgot or something..."

"That's no fair!" Trish yelled, "I want to be able to wear my own clothes!"

"Enough!" The teacher yelled, "Piper we'll discuss this later, until then just take your seats." They took their seats and the teacher began to address the whole class, "Okay everyone. Today as I'm sure you know, there will be a field trip to the Constellation Technologies Headquarters. While there we will see the new D-Wheel being tested. We'll be heading of immediately, so gather your things and head to the front gate.

* * *

Zion looked up at the Constellation Technologies building. It was the tallest building in Neo Domino, bar none. Towering over the whole city, acting as beacon to broadcast the technological prowess and the financial super power that was the Constellation Technologies corporation. It stood with a glass-like outer shell, making it glint in the sunlight.

The class walked in and found themselves in a huge lobby area, with a large reception area to boot. The teacher walked up to it to let the demonstrators know they had arrived.

Zion groaned as more students giggled at her for her loss on Saturday, this was seriously getting on her nerves.

"Hello everyone."

Zion turned to see a woman with long, dirty blonde hair standing atop the stairs to the next level. She had light skin, hazel eyes which were covered by a pair of glasses, and was wearing a lab-coat over a business suit.

"I am Dr. Carla, head researcher at Constellation Technologies. I will be showing you all a demonstration of our new D-Wheel system. Please follow this way."

The class followed Carla up the stairs, coming to a series of elevators. "Please take the elevators to the twenty third level."

Everyone hopped into an elevator and took it upwards, Zion ended up in one with Carla and Jessica. Jessica decided to pry about the new system, "Excuse me Doctor, but this new D-Wheel system wouldn't happen to be the Anastasia MK-1 would it?" Carla looked at her with surprise, "Well...yes. How did you know that?"

"You clearly don't keep to date with the local news do you? I'm Jessica Miles, sister to Anastasia Miles."

Carla smiled, "Ah, that explains it. It's obvious that a Miles would know of the latest models for duelling, we did name it after your sister."

Jessica held her head up proudly, "Of course! My sister is the Duel Queen, it gives me certain privileges. And of course when I graduate Duel Academia I'll take her place!"

"_Well someone's a spoiled little princess..." _Carla thought. "Well I'll keep an eye out for you in the pro-leagues."

"Make sure you do, you too Zion! I wouldn't want you to miss seeing me out there."

Carla turned her head to Zion, only just realising there was another person in the lift with them, "_At __least this one's nice and quite!" _She thought.

Zion glared at Jessica for a moment before looking back to the window, "Um...Nice to me you, Zion, was it?" Carla said, attempting to greet her nicely.

Zion looked at her, "Yeah, it's Zion. Nice to meet you too." Carla could tell that Zion wasn't in the mood for chit-chat, so she decided to leave it at that.

That was until Zion's eyes were drawn to something on the horizon. An island just off the coast of Neo Domino, she would barely of noticed it if it weren't for the towers of black smoke pumping from it. It was an odd sight to see to say the least.

"Hey, what's that?" Zion asked.

Jessica moved slightly closer to the window, "I'm not sure myself...I've seen it before but never bothered to ask. Although I must say, it's an eyesore!"

"The Satellite..."

Jessica and Zion looked at Carla, "It's called the Satellite. Used to be the lower-class part of Neo Domino, connected only by a massive bridge, but that was destroyed some time ago."

"What happened?" Asked Zion, intrigued.

Carla shrugged, "Lost to history I'm afraid. There was a rumour that the bridge was built by a duellist who wanted to reach Neo Domino, another says that the Satellite itself is built on an entrance to hell."

Zion frowned, "Well it won't be that second one, there's no such thing as hell."

"I'm guessing you don't follow the traditional religion of this city?" Carla asked.

Zion shook her head.

Carla suddenly had renewed interest in Zion, "Well, everyone needs a belief, what's yours?"

Zion opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the lift stopping at it's flaw. "Looks like we're here." Jessica said. Carla nodded and stepped out, "Nice talking with you girls."

Carla walked in front of the students and announced herself, "Hello again. This is the first stop on our trip. Before the demonstration, I want to show all of you the components used to create our D-Wheels. Please walk down that..." She stopped at she looked down the corridor she was pointing too.

Everyone turned to see what had made her stop. Standing at the end of the corridor was a figure wrapped in a black cloak, adorned with symbols to small to make out at the distance. They began to walk towards them. As they came more into view, the symbols and patterns of the cloak became more distinguished. Zion recognized it at once, it was a cloak...and a starchart. The same kind that Salina always wore. The constellations and zodiac signs were detailed all over it as it moved with it's wearer.

The figure came to a stop and Carla stepped out to face them,"Well, it was only a matter of time before we met..." Carla said.

The figure didn't raise their head to her, instead merely responded, "It appears your masters have educated you about us, then again I would expect as much when they have so much to loose."

The figures voice was muffed and indistinguishable between genders. Carla chuckled, "So much to loose? You know I was told that your people were smarter than this," She turn away from him and took a few steps ahead of her, "Just showing up like this, not exactly your style, is it?"

"Not normally, I will give you that. But, a change in methods is good to keep the enemies off-guard." They pulled a knife from their cloak and made a dash for Carla.

"Let's see what's faster, a knife," Carla spun around pulling a revolver from her coat and pointing it directly at the figure, "Or, a gun?"

The students were all panicking by this point, some crying, others frozen on the spot. Zion merely stood there and watched, scanning the movements of the cloaked figure with her eyes. Something about them seemed familiar, disturbingly so.

"Well, it looks like you were more prepared than I thought..."

Carla laughed, "You seriously think I wouldn't know you would be after me? Piece of advice: Next time, try a distraction, it helps."

"Oh, Dr. Carla, you are mistaken." They raised their head to Carla and Zion saw the mask. That same white mask she saw the day her mother was killed. She may of only seen it though the screen of her Duel Disk, but it's blank, expressionless face was forever burned into her mind.

"You see, I am the distraction."

Suddenly the revolver was shot from Carla's hand by a blast of energy. The windows around them smashed as two more cloaked figures entered the building.

They grabbed Carla and dashed down the hallway to an elevator. Zion moved, faster than she knew she could. There was no way she was letting these people get away, she wanted justice, she needed justice.

The figures were too fast, however. And they entered the lift before Zion could reach them. "Damn it!" She then bolted for the stairs, she had a gut feeling they were heading for the top of the building and she was going to catch them.

* * *

"Enter the code!" One of the figures demanded, pushing Carla against the glass.

"And let you get the tablet? I'd rather die!"

Suddenly the lift came to stop and the doors opened, "Afraid death is not an answer for you." A woman dressed in the same starchart-cloak the others were stepped in. Not revealing her face, she grabbed Carla's head and chanted a spell that caused Carla's mind to go completely blank.

"That should make you more cooperative," She said.

"Mistress, what are you doing here?" One of the figures asked. She turned to him, "I wanted to get in on the action for a change. Don't worry, our sanctuary is perfectly well protected. Now, Carla, please input the code so we may enter the laboratory."

Carla nodded and walked to the button pad on the lift. She twisted the latch above it and the it fell open, revealing a hidden compartment with zodiac signs on the buttons. She input the code and the lift began to ascend higher into the building.

After a few moments the lift took them to near the very top, this floor was the lab floor. They all stepped out as the researchers turned in surprise.

"Deal with them." Their leader said as she walked with Carla to the tablet. As she walked into the test chamber with Carla, the researchers screams could be heard, along with the ripping of skin and the devouring of flesh.

"Now, Carla, please open the chamber that the tablet is contained in." She nodded and input the release code into the screen. The chamber opened and the tablet was freed from it's prison.

"There you are, you beautiful piece of history! Thank you Dr. Carla; you were truly a great help." She turned to the doorway leading to the lab, "All done in there?"

"Yes, they won't be seeing the light of day again."

The woman smiled, "Good, then we shall take our leave. Prepare the tablet and meet me on the roof."

The figure followed her command and picked up the tablet, they left the room leaving Carla with the woman.

"Well, I must be taking my leave. What do you say Carla? Keep you alive or end your existence?" She teased. Weighing her options, she decided to leave Carla alive, her knowledge could be used another day. "Goodbye Carla, I'll be seeing you," She snapped her fingers and Carla fell to the floor; she then walked out of the room and proceeded up the stairs to the roof.

At that moment, Zion burst into the room, pausing to catch her breath for a moment. She looked around and saw the dismembered corpses in front of her and noticed the blood coating the walls as if a rabid animal has torn these people apart. She then wondered if this was the right idea, after all these people would clearly kill to get their way. But...No! She had to do this, she needed answers!

She looked all around the lab but found nobody alive, except for Carla who she could see was still breathing. Running over, she tried to wake up; but all she got were mumbled words.

Zion growled and looked to the staircase leading to the roof, "_They must be up there!" _She thought. Running up the stairs she kicked the door open and a gust of wind blew her face. There she was on top of the building, the highest point in the city. The sunlight blazed down onto the concrete helipad the was standing on and the rest of Neo Domino could be seen for miles around. But this wasn't the time to sightsee. She darted around looking for the sound of the helicopter.

She found it. There was a group of cloaked figures, moving the tablet into the helicopter. Their leader was stood there, waiting.

"Hey!" Zion called out.

They all stopped and looked at her, "Who the hell is that?" One of them asked, "I'm not sure...that uniform...I think she's one of the students." They paid her no heed and continued with their duty.

Zion became enraged, "Listen to me!"

They glanced at her again and then went back to their work.

"_Join me in the Cradle, my sisters. For we are the blessed to become one with the Stars..." _That made them stop.

"I didn't want to think that would get your attention!" Zion yelled.

The woman turned to Zion, "A prayer...a prayer that only the Sisterhood would know..."

Zion looked at her, confused, "Sisterhood? What the hell are you talking about!?"

The woman smiled, "Whoever your teacher is, I suspect that she's not exactly...forthcoming with the information about us, is she?"

"I don't even know who the hell you are! But that's what I'm here for, answers!"

She tilted her head, "Answers? To what?"

"My parents, why did you kill them!?" Zion demanded.

The woman sighed, "We end many lives to further our goals, we apologize for ending those of your parents. But it for the greater good, I assure you."

Zion couldn't believe this. These people killed her mother for the greater good? What the hell did that mean? "You don't even know who I'm talking about, do you? Hawk, Azure Hawk! The geologist you killed twelve years ago!"

The woman thought for a moment and then remembered, "Ah yes! Hawk, the then top researcher for Constellation Technologies. You must be her daughter, Zion was it?"

"Yes...I am Zion Hawk." Zion said, readying herself, "And you made a mistake, my mother was an archaeologist. She had nothing to do with Constellation."

The woman smirked, "Looks like others haven't been honest with you either. Tell me Zion: How much do you know of the words you just spoke? Because that was an ancient phase, passed down for generations. Only the Sisterhood know it and you are not one of us."

"They originate from the Old World, from an order know as the Keepers of the Sky." Zion said without hesitation.

The woman was taken aback, "Who exactly are you, Zion Hawk?"

Zion understood that she was dealing with people who followed her traditions or at least a twisted form of them, "In the name of the Queen, I challenge you," She activated her Duel Disk.

The woman smiled a twisted grin, "You challenge me to a duel? How long has it been?"

"Enough talk, do you accept my challenge?"

"Such a young girl and with such ancient knowledge... Very well Zion, we shall settle this in the old way, the true way!"

The figures in the helicopter began to panic, "But Mistress, we need to leave at once!"

She looked over her shoulder at them, "You do, I don't. I shall return after my duel." They nodded and the helicopter took off and left them alone on the roof.

Zion looked at the woman's wrist, "How are you going to duel with out a Duel Disk?"

She giggled, "I'll just have to get one." She outstretched her arm and a green aura surrounded it. After a few moments a grey, stone-looking Duel Disk appeared on her arm. It was similar to a Neo Domino Duel Disk, only it was much more streamlined in design.

"Shall we dance?" She asked playfully.

Zion threw on her D-Gazer on, "Duel Disk set, D-Gazer set!"

"_VR field set, duel start!" _Said the robotic voice.

**Zion LP – 4000**

**? LP - 4000**

Zion drew, "I'll go first!"

She looked at her hand, "_I'll finish this quick and easy!"_ She thought. "I activate the Field Magic Sanctuary in the Sky!"

The field was swept into a vortex of clouds and they were transported to the place many called Heaven.

"Hmm... A Fairy deck? No bad! I don't see those much." The woman praised.

Zion ignored her opponent and continued her move, "I summon The Agent of Mystery – Earth in attack mode!"

**The Agent of Mystery – Earth ATK – 1000**

"Now, when she's summoned I can add one Agent monster to my hand. But, since Sanctuary is on the field I can add Master Hyperion instead." Zion added the monster to her hand and ended her turn.

"Ha, a decent opener Zion, but let me show you how one of my kind duels!" The woman drew her card. "I activate the Continuous Magic Shard of Greed. Whenever I draw for my draw phase I add one Greed Counter to this card, when I have two or more, I draw two cards."

"Now, I summon Tour Guide from the Underworld!"

**Tour Guide from the Underworld ATK – 1000**

"And now I play her effect. When she's normal summoned, I can special summon a LV 3 or lower Fiend monster from my deck. I choose Night Assailant."

**Night Assailant ATK – 200**

"LV 3 Night Assailant, Tour Guide from the Underworld. Overlay!"

A portal to the Anti-Matter Universe opened and both of her monster converted to energy and they were sucked in. Out of the portal climbed a red Dinosaur wearing ceremonial armour and fire blazing in it's eyes.

"Xyz Summon. Grenosaurus!"

**Grenosaurus ATK – 2000**

Zion readied herself for an attack, "_A first turn Xyz summon? Have to admit I didn't see that coming..."_

"Grenosaurus, attack Earth!"

The monster charged full speed at earth, grabbing her in his teeth as Earth...screamed? Zion couldn't explain it, but she was screaming, really screaming in real pain.

"Help...me..."

When Zion saw those words come from Earth's mouth, she felt a wave of guilt and confusion run over her. "Did...did she just speak?"

Earth was destroyed and Greno stared Zion down, "W-wait! Why is he still there? Sanctuary protects me from battle damage involving Fairies!"

"That is true. But Greno deals 1000 points of burn to you by detaching an Overlay Unit!"

One of the lights circling Greno shot into him and he roared, shooting a blast of fire right at Zion.

Zion put her arms up, she could actually feel the heat from the attack.

**Zion LP – 3000**

"What the hell was that!? I could feel the heat from that attack!"

The woman laughed, "Having fun? I told you we would settling this the old way. I just chose not to harm you."

Zion's eyes widened, "Harm me? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Didn't you know? In the Old World the monsters were real..." She explained with a smile.

"Real...monsters...?" Zion said, fear growing inside her.

She merely smiled and continued her move, "You'll see, soon enough. I place one card face down and end my turn."

* * *

Salina walked back to her shop from a quick trip to her local bakery. She'd bought some muffins to treat herself, chocolate-chip. She had spent the day worrying about Zion and how her grandparents treated her. Salina wasn't a parent, and she certainly wasn't in line to become one. But, when Zion first confided in her about the family she had to love with, Salina's mind painted a less than ideal picture; with details of how devout her grandparents were to their flawed - and in Salina's opinion - destructive religion.

"_Worshipping such a heartless and foul beast such as their God; It must be a miracle they don't start a war against what few other religions there are any more. They've done it before, after all." _

She reached to door to her shop and was about to insert the key into the lock, when a shadow loomed over the street. She looked up, wondering what it was. Clouds as black as night curved there way across the formally blue sky.

At first, Salina thought it to be merely an oddly out of place storm. It was the middle of summer and she hadn't received a warning for poor weather in her morning reading. But, as her eyes followed the clouds, she saw them begin to envelop the room above the Constellation Technologies building. She suddenly felt an immense pressure fall over the entire city as the sky began to weep. However, this was no rain. As it hit Salina's face she wiped it off and saw the crimson omen she had only seen in her darkest of visions.

She instantly dropped her basket and ran as fast as she could towards the building. The ritual had begun. The ritual that brought horrors from the Old-World into ours. For the first time in centuries, the world would witness a Dark Duel.


End file.
